A bat was found in the women's toilets and was taken into the main drinking area on a dustpan by the barman. The bat, which was lying still, was brought to the attention of Chisholm. He touched it, causing it to spring up and start flying in circles around the pool table. The court heard offshore worker Chisholm had panicked and feared he might catch rabies.
Defence lawyer Gail Galloway said: "His first thoughts were bats - rabies. It can be alarming if one is in the flight path as Mr Chisholm was. The bat flew into his pool cue when he was waving his arms around." Ms Galloway said her client had not meant to harm the bat. The animal was believed to have been stunned after being hit and was taken outside.
Chisholm later returned to check on the animal but it had disappeared. Scottish SPCA chief supt Mike Flynn said: "Bats are very fragile creatures and being struck with a pool cue would have caused it a great deal of pain, suffering and distress. In our opinion, this was a deliberate and shameful act of violence against a defenceless animal. As a result of our investigation, Chisholm now has a criminal record for this mindless offence."
3 comments:
Next thing you know, they'll give you a jail term for squishing a cockroach.
The various bat species in Scotland and the rest of the UK are protected by law as they're endangered, cockroaches aren't.
Save the cockroaches! Not.
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